III.
Vows of Nonviolent Witness
“We
pledge to act in allegiance to God alone, and to resist injustice with
goodness”
- I will seek to abolish war and the causes of war from my own heart and from the world around me.
Many reasons
are given for violence and war. Some sound more
honorable than others: We needed to strike back in self-defense. Compassion
obligated me to stand with an endangered friend. Some of our reasons sound less righteous: He was jealous and drunk. Those two had a sour history already. She was desperate for more money. They wanted to prove their power and be taken seriously.
Some of these causes of violence may be part of the picture in any given situation, but every act of violence and war, whether at home, in the neighborhood or overseas arises from a cocktail of causes.
Christian
peacemakers are called not just to protest and react to the violence that
erupts, but to proactively dig at the root motives and causes embedded in a
nation’s political, social and economic systems, in a community’s historical
patterns and current goals, in a family’s loyalties and divisions, in one’s own
places of hurt and desire. This last one must go with the broader ones. To be
people of God’s peace, we must become aware of the motives, anxieties, fears,
wounds and desires within our own self. So today, we begin within us
and let it prepare us to move outward. “I
will seek to abolish war and the causes of war from my own heart and from the
world around me.”
For Reflection and
Action:
1. Read
Luke 6:43-45 and Matthew
15:8-20.
a.
Think of the activities you have to do (or have
done) today. What are the deep desires that drive some of these? What fears or
anxieties are present? List out as many as you can think of.
b.
Which of these desires or anxieties hamper or
disrupt good relationships with yourself? With other humans near you or far away? With God's creation? Which desires or anxieties particularly increase the difficulty of following Jesus wholeheartedly?
2. Confess
to God and to a close confidant one or two of these “warring causes” within
you. Be conscious of their presence and influence in your life today. Ask God
for healing of your fears and right-ordering of your desires.
Prayer
Focus
"Let There Be Peace on Earth"Let there be peace on Earth,
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on Earth,
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Parent,
Siblings all are we,
Let me walk with them,
In perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me,
Let this be the moment now,
With every step I take,
Let this be my solemn vow,
To take each moment and live each moment
In peace, eternally.
Let there be peace on Earth,
And let it begin with me.
